The museum is located in a three story 15th Century palazzo. Museum exhibits are on all three floors of the museum.
Museum
The Museum of the Battle (Museo della Battaglia) was founded in the 1930’s by a Ragazzo del ’99 (Boy of 99) which refers to the youngest troops conscripted during World War 1 in Italy and credited with saving Italy from losing the war.
The museum exhibits cover the entire war in Italy in World War 1, with a focus on the war in 1917-18 after the Battle of Caporetto, the occupation of the Friuli region and portions of the Veneto; the Battle of the Solstice (2nd Battle of the Piave in June 1918) and lastly, the Battle of Vittorio Veneto, Italy’s final victorious battle.
Exhibits in the museum also include some American involvement in the war. On the second floor in the “Camera di Mito” (Rooms of Myths) includes an exhibit to 1st Lieutenant Coleman Dewitt Jr. Who was a “Foggiani” (US Airmen trained in the Italian city of Foggia). Dewitt was awarded Italy’s highest medal- Medaglia d’Oro (Gold Medal) for his heroism while flying a Caproni (Ca5 No. 11669 Tri-motor bomber) with the Italian 6th Squadron, 11th Bomber Group.
Summary of DeWitt Coleman’s actions:
During the Battle of Vittorio Veneto on 27 October 1918, Lt. Coleman DeWitt, 25, and his crew were attacked by five Austro-Hungarian Aviatik D.I pursuit planes while returning from a bombing mission. Instead of avoiding the battle by landing their lumbering aircraft, Coleman, first pilot on a Caproni Ca.5, chose to fight. The Offical citation reads: "Two of the enemy planes were shot down, thanks to the accurate aim of the encircled aircraft which continued to fight, even when it broke out in flames until, trapped and overcome by the powerful group of enemy planes, it fell and the entire crew perished in the accomplishment of their daring action,'' Lieutenant James L. Bahl Jr. also flew with Coleman along with two Italian Crew members, Lieutenant Vincezo Cutello, and Sergeant Jarcisio Cantarutti.
The Battle of Vittorio Veneto was the final action fought on the Italian front. The Italian victory led to the Austro-Hungarian surrender. DeWitt's body was sent to New Jersey three years later. A funeral was held on 3 July 1921, attended by Fiorello La Guardia, who had been Coleman's commander and later became New York's mayor. Coleman was posthumously awarded the Medaglia d'Oro al Valor Militare (gold medal for bravery), Italy's highest award, assigned to just 23 airmen in the war.
The museum also includes a section on the ground floor called “Faces in the Book” which is a photographic account of the soldiers who made up the 332nd US Infantry Regiment, the only US Army unit to fight in Italy in World War 1. The book also includes a list of all the soldiers who served in the 332nd
Lastly, the museum includes the standards flown on the US delegation automobile during the Paris Peace conference in 1919.
